Your Employability

When studying at the Computer Science Department, enhancing your employability is one of our key priorities. We offer a range of activities throughout your time in university to improve your employability. The latest Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey shows that Aberystwyth Computer Science graduates exceed the national subject area average for employability. Below, are various ways we hope to improve your employability as a Computer Science student at Aberystwyth University.

Your Career Prospects

The Computer Science Department is proud of our graduate employment rate in recent DHLE (The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) surveys. Here at Aberystwyth University, our obligations go far beyond that of pure academia, we also help you prepare for life after graduation and hope to help you gain employment after your degree.

Careers Fair and Visiting Employers

The most recent careers fair attracted relevant employers in the industry of Computer Science from across the country, all of which were delighted to talk to our students about their future. In addition to the Careers Fair, employers regularly visit us to talk to students about job and placement opportunities that they have on offer.

Careers Advisory Service

Throughout your time here you will be given lectures by the Careers Advisory Service on a range of topics including: writing a CV, giving effective presentations, psychometric tests, assessment centres etc. As well as these timetabled lectures, numerous additional workshops and ad-hoc drop-in sessions are offered throughout the year. All this will help you prepare for life after graduation.

Personal Development Planning (PDP)

The Department encourages all its students to engage with PDP. Your own personal tutor will help you through the process of completing the Personal Development Portfolio.

PDP is a structured process of self-appraisal, reflection, planning and record keeping which has these main purposes:

To help students to improve their quality of learning and their academic performance

To support processes of personal development including skills needed for a future career

To equip students with tools which enable forward planning to achieve their goals

Students have a responsibility to participate in PDP and for keeping their PDP Portfolio up-to-date.

PDP is about life, work and study. If it is done well, it supports students in becoming the sort of well-rounded, forward-thinking, adaptable and capable adults with good career prospects that we wish Aberystwyth graduates to be.

Year 1

In your first year you will participate in an activity weekend. This weekend will help you develop your interpersonal, problem solving and team building skills. All our first years take a Professional and Personal Development module, covering issues such CV writing, presentation, time management and team working skills essential to improving employability.

Year 2

‌If you are intending to take a year in employment in year 3 you will participate in a careers event in Gregynog Hall which focuses on improving your employability. You will get guidance on your CV, how to give a presentation and you will get an opportunity to have mock interviews with real life industrialists. All this will improve your confidence and make you ready for the world of work.

All students take part in a major group project in year 2, with team members taking on roles found in industry such as Team Leader or Quality assurance manager. This further develops team working skills, communication and time management, and also exposes you to industry standard documentation, testing and tools such as version control systems.

Industrial Year

All of our students are encouraged to spend a year working in the computing industry between the second and third taught years of their degree scheme. Help is available from the department and the University's Careers Service to find suitable placements and to develop your CV and interview skills. Our Industrial Year students are in demand with prestigious employers such as IBM, HP, Walt Disney and Amadeus.

Final Year

In your final year you will be preparing for employability as you near the end of your course. We provide talks about writing job applications, talks from previous alumni about their jobs, and talks from visiting employers. You can also book one to one sessions with the careers advisory service.

A significant part of your final year is your major project; this is your opportunity to complete a substantial individual project that is a showcase of your abilities, which is of great interest to employers. All of our single honours students also take a module on Professional Issues in the Computing Industry, covering issues such as managerial, ethical, legal and financial topics relating to the IT industry, and discusses the opportunities and challenges of different career options.

Postgraduates

The advanced specialised skills and knowledge that students acquire on our taught postgraduate courses are eagerly sought by employers in the industry. Many of the students on the courses are already experienced professionals and know from their own experience how much up-to-date expertise in these areas is in demand.

Highly Employable

95% of our graduates are in employment or further study

The annual DLHE (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education) Survey, which has just been released, demonstrates that Aberystwyth Computer Science undergraduates are highly employable. This government survey reveals that 95% of our undergraduate students who graduated in 2014 are in employment or further study, just six months after graduation. This is much higher than the national average for computer science, which stands at 89%.

We take employability very seriously. Alongside the theory of computer science, we provide practical and transferable skills throughout our degree schemes. We offer industrial year placements, a subject-specific careers fair, a weekend away with employers at Gregynog Hall to advise on CV and interview skills, jobs notice boards (electronic and paper) and frequent talks by visiting employers.

We wish this summer's graduating students as much success as their 2014 predecessors.